6 Comments

This is an excellent piece! Came here from Hoel's write up of it. Can you recommend any books on the opium trade and how that money funded american expansion?

Expand full comment

Thank you! I'm glad you liked it, the main sources used are listed at the end of the footnotes, they are:

Barons of the Sea by Steven Ujifusa

When America First Met China by Eric Jay Dolin

Imperial Twilight by Stephen R. Platt

I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Expand full comment

Cheers, which did you enjoy the most?

Expand full comment

Barons of the Sea, but When America First Met China is a close second.

Eric Jay Dolin has written some of the best books I've read on the early American economy. I binged a trilogy of them during the lockdowns of 2020.

Expand full comment

HSBC story particularly is very "fun"

Expand full comment

I'm glad you liked it.

Expand full comment